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Understanding Yoga And Stress Relief

Stress, in many regards, is a fact of life for many people. The daily pressure of trying to live up to societal expectations from our family and friends to trying to meet the desired goals at work can take a toll on any person. Add the desire to always grow on a personal level, and all the pressure can yield frighteningly negative effects on our state of mind, which tends to have negative ripple effects on our entire being.

One of the best ways to relief stress is through yoga. To the vast majority of yoga novices and people with no knowledge of what yoga truly is, there are little benefits to yoga from stretching one’s muscles. However, nothing could be further from the truth as yoga has far reaching benefits beyond one’s physical state of mind. If you are interested in stress relief with yoga, Philadelphia yoga teacher training is a proven program.

Though not many people know it, the state of one’s mind is inextricably linked with the stat of their body. As such, mental stress and strain correlate with physical tension, say in the muscles. Of critical importance in this relationship between the mind and the body is that you can use one or both to alleviate stress.

How does Yoga Aid In Stress Relief

At the heart of yoga are mind and body wellness. Everything in yoga is done to improve the one’s wellbeing as a whole. A vast variety of yoga poses including Hatha yoga, Asana Yoga, and Pranayam Yoga make for a relaxing experience.

One way these and many other postures relief stress is by stretching one’s muscle. Since the state of mind and muscles tensions are linked, one can use muscles as a way of improving the state of their mind. By stretching the muscles and relaxing them, you allow your mind to relax in a similar way, thus alleviating any prevailing stress.

Another way in which yoga functions as a stress reliever is through increased oxygen intake. In our fast paced daily routines, we normally dedicate little to no effort to breathing the right way. We simply work and move around in autopilot, regardless of whether we get sufficient oxygen or not. By performing yoga, we engage in a deliberate intake of large volumes of air, which improves our oxygen intake. Consequently, we provide our brains with enough oxygen to function optimally. This improves our clarity of mind and alleviates lots of stress.

Additionally, since doing yoga is engaging in physical activity, there I usually an increment in blood circulation. Increased blood flow bodes well with the improvement of brain function and stress alleviation owing to the increased supply oxygen-rich blood to our brains.

Finally, yoga helps to relieve stress by enabling partakers to engage in meditation. A prominent aspect of doing yoga is focusing on your breathing and to keeping your minds free of all other aspects of your lives, thus living in the moment. This improves one’s state of mind and provides relief from stress during the entire yoga session, allowing your mind to relax. The combination of these relaxation benefits of yoga help to alleviate stress more effectively than many other stress-relief methods.

Different Types Of Yoga and Yoga Training

Yoga exercises can help improve your strength and flexibility. There are many types of yoga to choose from that will suit anyone, from beginners to masters. Hath yoga refers to any yoga that teaches yoga postures. Almost every kind of yoga class in the West is called Hatha yoga.

Below are a few types of yoga for you to consider:

INTEGRAL YOGA

Integral Yoga is a gentle yoga practice based on deep relaxation, breathing exercises, postures, chanting, and meditation. It focuses on the return to our natural condition which includes a clear, calm mind; a heart filled with love; a pliable yet strong will; health and strength; and life live in supreme joy.

IYENGAR YOGA

Iyengar yoga focuses on a few postures while exploring subtle actions the body requires to master its proper alignment. Props are used to modify postures to make the practice accessible to all levels of students. The primary objective for beginners is to understand the basic structure and alignment of the poses while gaining greater awareness, physical strength and flexibility.

OM YOGA

Om yoga comprises medium paced sequences of Vinyasa combined with instructions on alignment as well as compassion and mindfulness based on Tibetan Buddhist concepts. The primary goal is to integrate compassion, mindfulness, and clarity into your life while cultivating stability, and strength.

KUNDALINI YOGA

Kundalini yoga, sometimes called the yoga of awareness, strives to awaken kundalini energy (psycho-energetic force in the body) which leads to a spiritual elevation to kick-start a process of transformation.

A Kundalini yoga class typically starts with chanting and features pranayama, asana, and meditation, ending with singing and is designed to create a particular outcome. It includes challenging breathing exercises including the Breath of Fire, a rapid pranayama exercise. It also includes mudras (sealing gestures), mantras, mini-meditations and dynamic movement-oriented poses that can push students to the limit.

VINIYOGA

Viniyoga classes vary widely and are tailored to meet individual needs. They may include pranayama, asana, chanting, ritual, prayer and meditation. The aim is to coordinate movement with breath with the emphasis on mobilizing the spine.
Viniyoga also develops the voice, breath, intellect, memory, character and heart of the student. The practice of Viniyoga cultivates positivity, reduces negativity and helps each student to achieve awareness, which is the key to self-transformation. Kripalu yoga center has a top rated viniyoga yoga teacher training programs and yoga retreats.

VINYASA YOGA

Vinyasa is Sanskrit for flow, and these practices include movement-intense, fluid postures. Classes are choreographed to transition between poses, and often music smoothly is used to enhance the flow. Vinyasa yoga is lively and will test your physical limits.

SIVANANDA YOGA

This yoga style is based on the Swami Sivananda teachings and is more spiritual in nature rather than exercises. It focuses on 12 essential core postures combined with Sanskrit chanting, pranayama, relaxation and meditation exercises. Sivananda yoga is designed to elevate human consciousness and aid in transformation. It focuses on the fundamental five points of yoga: proper breathing, proper diet, proper exercise, proper relaxation and positive thinking.

There are much more types of yoga to choose from. Try some of them and discover the one that will best suit your personal needs. Whether you are looking for more relaxation or a deeper spiritual awareness, there is a yoga type just for you.